and many more benefits!

Find us on Facebook

GMAT Club Timer Informer

Hi GMATClubber!

Thank you for using the timer!
We noticed you are actually not timing your practice. Click the START button first next time you use the timer.
There are many benefits to timing your practice, including:

Show Tags

HideShow timer Statistics

PARALLELISM: IMPERFECT LIST

Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.

A. extendingB. extendsC. extendedD. it extendedE. is extending

This is Q#42 from OG 12. It has been removed from OG 13. So if you want to solve this question first, go ahead. But my belief is that most of you have already solved this question before and will not forget the confusion it had created when you encountered it for the first time. This question can safely be said to be one the most confusing and extensively discussed official questions. Reason: The seemingly “non-parallel” grammatical structure of the entities. We classify the list as Imperfect List. The OA for this one is choice A. Did you ask, “Hey, “spawned” and “extending” are parallel? They don’t even look grammatically similar.”This reminds me of a similar question that we are always asked. “Can active voice be parallel to passive voice?” The answer to all these questions is “Yes”. “Spawned” is parallel to “extending” and active and passive voices can also be parallel, another instance of Imperfect List.

A LITTLE TWEAK

Logic and grammar run parallel in parallelism. Entities in a list must be Logically as well as Grammatically parallel. Many a times, it becomes difficult to maintain identical grammatical structure to convey the logical intended meaning. In these scenarios, the grammatical structures are not compromised but tweaked a bit to maintain logic in the sentence. Overall, logic trumps grammar. After all grammar is a tool to express logic!! (or shall I say intended meaning).

This tweak results in Imperfect List where we see apparently “non-parallel” grammatical entities such as “spawned” and “extending”, active and passive voice entities, etc. Here are some structures of possible imperfect lists:

1. Active and passive voice entities2. Verb-ed and Verb-ing modifiers

Reference Article: Here is another article that you may want to refer to. Also, check out our concepts on parallelism for more explanations. Registerat e-gmat for the same.

Let’s take a few simple examples before analyzing the confusing OG problems. Look at these five example sentences below and mark the sentences that parallel. (You will need a pen and paper for that )

1. The new lamp decorated with pink flowers and resembling a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

2. The new lamp decorated with pink flowers and resembled a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

3. The new lamp decorating with pink flowers and resembling a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

4. The new lamp decorated with pink flowers and that resembles a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

5. The new lamp that is decorated with pink flowers and that resembles a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

EXPLANATION

Let’s analyze one sentence at a time.

1. The new lamp decorated with pink flowers and resembling a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

This sentence is about a new lamp that made a child smile. Two characteristics of this lamp are mentioned here. The new lamp:a. is decorated with pink flower andb. resembles a star.

Notice that “decorated” is the verb-ed modifier presenting one quality of the lamp. “resembling” is a verb-ing modifier presenting another quality of the lamp. So, both these words are modifiers that perform the same function. Hence, “decorated” and “resembling” are parallel. Yes, one is a Verb-ed Modifier and the other is Verb-ing Modifier. But they both are “Modifiers” and modify the same entity. This is the reason why these two are parallel.

2. The new lamp decorated with pink flowers and resembled a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

In this sentence, “decorated” and “resembled” are structurally identical but not parallel. “Decorated” is a verb-ed modifier but “resembled” is a simple past tense verb. They do not perform the same function. Hence, they are not parallel. Also notice that now “The new lamp” has two verbs “resembled” and “brought” that are not connected properly. So this sentence is INCORRECT.

3. The new lamp decorating with pink flowers and resembling a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

Here too, “decorating” and “resembling” are structurally identical but not parallel. The phrase “decorating with flowers” seems to suggest that the lamp was doing the action of decorating. Moreover, “decorating” by itself cannot be a continuous verb because it is not preceded by any helping verb (is/am/are/was/were). So, even if they look identical, these two entities are not parallel.

4. The new lamp decorated with pink flowers and that resembles a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

Here, “decorated” is a verb-ed modifier and “that resembles” is also a modifier. They perform the same function. But there grammatical structure is not parallel. “Decorated” is a verb-ed modifier and “that resembles” is a clause. A word/phrase CANNOT be parallel to a clause.

In this case, even if the list makes logical sense, grammar does not approve it as parallel because the clause can be written in the form to make it parallel to “decorated”. “that resembles” can be written as “resembling” and this will make the list parallel.

5. The new lamp that is decorated with pink flowers and that resembles a star brought a large smile on the child’s face. This sentence rectifies the error of sentence 4. and turns single-word verb-ed modifier “decorated” into “that is decorated”, a “that clause”. Now the entities in the list are absolutely parallel.

Did you just say, “But these two entities are written in two different voices.” I’m glad you noticed.

An active voice entity CAN very well be parallel to a passive voice as long as the subject of the verbs is same. Notice in both “that clause”, “that” stands for “The new lamp”. So the sentence says that:a. The new lamp is decorated with pink flowers. -->Passive Voice; Note the active voice will be Rosy decorated the lamp with pink flowers.b. The new lamp resembles a star. --> Active Voice.

So now we can easily explain why “spawned” and “extending” are parallel.

Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and rootlike tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.

Let’s first understand the meaning of this sentence. Scientists have discovered a giant fungus that is a complex filigree. Two characteristics of this giant fungus are mentioned, and these two characteristics are the reason why scientists think this giant fungus can be the oldest and largest living organism on Earth.a. The filigree = the fungus is spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago.b. The filigree = the fungus extends for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.

“spawned” is a verb-ed modifier that modifies the fungus. “extending” is a verb-ing modifier that modifies the same entity. They perform the same function. They both are modifiers, modify the same entity, and both are phrases. That is why these two are parallel. This sentence is correct as is.

Choices B, C and E are verb entities that CANNOT be parallel to verb-ed modifiers. Choice D is a clause that again grammatically is not parallel to a single word modifier.

PRACTICE EXERCISES

Solve these two official problems and let us know why the correct answer is correct and why the incorrect ones are incorrect.

1. Dressed as a man and using the name Robert Shurtleff, Deborah Sampson, the first woman to draw a soldierâ€™s pension, joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.

A. 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had becomeB. 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had becomeC. 22, and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, beingD. 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she wasE. 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being

2. First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

a. found in the Phillipines and that resemblesb. found in the Phillipines and that, resemblingc. found in the Phillipines and resemblingd. that is found in the Phillipines and it resemblese. that is found in the Phillipines, resembling

We will add 2 more official problems if the community desires and if we get more than 15 attempts on the official problems. Let us know how you feel about this article.Thanks. Shraddha

Show Tags

20 Nov 2012, 22:38

1. IMO A for below reasons.

A. This answer choice puts all 3 elements in parallel without ruining the intent of the sentence. Past perfect tense is acceptable here because it states that she was too ill and was then discharged.B. The words "while being..." seems to suggest that she was being discharged at the same time she was injured 3 times. This doesn't really make sense to me. Also, this answer choice is a bit wordy and could be more concise.C. This answer choice should not separate the 3 parallel elements. Deborah Sampson joined, was injured and was discharged. However, this answer choice places the first 2 elements in parallel and then separates the final element with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. As a result, we have a sentence fragment because 2 independent clauses should be joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. Also, "being" is wordy in this case.D. Parallelism is broken here because "injured" should be "was injured." Currently, it seems to act like a modifier - not sure what it modifies. Either way, it is incorrect.E. Parallelism is broken again here because "having been injured" is not parallel to joined and discharged. Again "being" is wordy here.

2. IMO C

A. This answer choice is not parallel. The first part is a modifier while the second part is a clause.B. The presence of that, makes it unparallel.C. Correct. Both are modifiers and thus, parallel. D. This answer choice is not parallel as Parallel clauses must start with same word.E. This answer choice is not parallel. A clause is not parallel to a modifier.

Show Tags

22 Nov 2012, 04:16

1. Dressed as a man and using the name Robert Shurtleff, Deborah Sampson, the first woman to draw a soldierâ€™s pension, joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.

D

2. First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

a. found in the Phillipines and that resemblesb. found in the Phillipines and that, resemblingc. found in the Phillipines and resemblingd. that is found in the Phillipines and it resemblese. that is found in the Phillipines, resembling

Show Tags

Deborah Sampson did three things:a) joined the continental army...b) was injured three timesc) was discharged..

All these are clauses. Though some are in passive and active they make logical sense and hence option A is correct.

1. Dressed as a man and using the name Robert Shurtleff, Deborah Sampson, the first woman to draw a soldierâ€™s pension, joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.

A. 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had becomeB. 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had become -- Distorts meaing: (while being discharged)C. 22, and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being .. (and, and.. for three items in parallel)D. 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she was (verb-ed modifier can't be parallel to other clauses)E. 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being (joined not parallel to having been injured and discharged )

Ans: CLina's sunbird:1) found is the Philipines and2) resembled a hummingbird. (both modifiers must be parallel to each other)

2. First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

a. found in the Phillipines and that resembles - found in the philipines can't be parallel to that resembles - a clauseb. found in the Phillipines and that, resembling - again, not parallel statementsc. found in the Phillipines and resemblingd. that is found in the Phillipines and it resembles - modifier can't be parallel to a verbe. that is found in the Phillipines, resembling - clause can't be parallel to verb-ing modifier

Show Tags

22 Nov 2012, 23:25

1. Dressed as a man and using the name Robert Shurtleff, Deborah Sampson, the first woman to draw a soldierâ€™s pension, joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.

A. 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become - CORRECTB. 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had become - illogicalC. 22, and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being - "and" is misplacedD. 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she was E. 22, [color=#ff0000]having been injured[/color] three times and discharged in 1783, being - to represent indefinite time in past use simple past tense

2. First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

a. found in the Phillipines and that resembles - use present tense for generalized truthsb. found in the Phillipines and that, resemblingc. found in the Phillipines and resemblingd. that is found in the Phillipines and it resembles - CORRECTe. that is found in the Phillipines, resembling_________________

Thanks & RegardsYodee

‘A good plan violently executed now is better than aperfect plan executed next week.’- General Georg S. Patton

Show Tags

23 Nov 2012, 00:17

1

This post receivedKUDOS

1. Dressed as a man and using the name Robert Shurtleff, Deborah Sampson, the first woman to draw a soldierâ€™s pension, joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.

A. 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had becomeB. 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had becomeIllogically states that she was injured three times at the same moment when she was discharged.C. 22, and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being What does this "being" modifies? Was she too ill when she was injured or was she too ill when she was discharged. Moreover one of the two consecutive clauses without a conjunction acts as a modifier to the other. So a disasterD. 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she was We need to know which was an earlier event; her being ill or her being dischargedE. 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being Where is the verb? It's as if I am saying My friend Faraz who is living in Nottingham. A total disaster.

2. First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Phillipines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

a. found in the Phillipines and that resembles "that resembles" is not parallel.b. found in the Phillipines and that, resembling same issuec. found in the Phillipines and resembling d. that is found in the Phillipines and it resembles not parallel when there is no separation of clause due to "comma" then we are not supposed to use a pronoun. Moreover parallelism issue remains.e. that is found in the Phillipines, resembling It resembles a humming bird is a consequence of the preceding clause. Illogical

Show Tags

Thank you very much for all your appreciation. We have some very good responses here. Here comes the detailed explanation of both the questions:

1. Dressed as a man and using the name Robert Shurtleff, Deborah Sampson, the first woman to draw a soldier’s pension, joined the Continental Army in 1782 at the age of 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.

A. 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had becomeB. 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had becomeC. 22, and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, beingD. 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she wasE. 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being

Meaning Analysis:

Deborah Sampson, dressed as a man and using the name Robert Shurtleff, was the first women to draw a soldier’s pension. She joined army in 1782, got injured three times and was discharged from the service in 1783 because she had become too ill to serve.

Error Analysis

1) The opening modifier “dressed as…” refers to the following noun Deborah Sampson. 2) Modifier “the first woman…” correctly modifies Sampson again. 3) Singular verb “was” agrees in number with singular noun “Sampson”. 4) There is a list in the sentence. The verbs in the list, “joined”, “was injured” and “was discharged” are in simple past tense. The first entity is in active voice and the last two are in passive voice. They are parallel because they all these verbs have the same subject “Deborah Sampson”. Thus, there is no error in the sentence.

PoE:

A) 22, was injured three times, and was discharged in 1783 because she had become: Correct. The choice is correct as is as described in the error analysis.

B) 22, was injured three times, while being discharged in 1783 because she had become: Incorrect. Modifier “while being discharged…” indicates that Sampson got injured while being discharged in 1783, which is incorrect. Her injuries took place before she was discharged.

C) 22, and was injured three times, and discharged in 1783, being: Incorrect.1) There is no need of “and” before “was injured” because it is not the final element in the list of parallels. 2) “discharged” without any helping verb seems to state that Sampson discharged herself, which is non-sensical.

D) 22, injured three times, and was discharged in 1783, because she was: Incorrect. “injured” without any helping verb seems to indicate that Sampson injured herself, which is non-sensical.

E) 22, having been injured three times and discharged in 1783, being: Incorrect. Modifier “having been injured…” seems to state that Sampson was injured and discharged at the same time, which is not correct.

2. First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Philippines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

A. found in the Philippines and that resemblesB. found in the Philippines and that, resemblingC. found in the Philippines and resemblingD. that is found in the Philippines and it resemblesE. that is found in the Philippines, resembling

Meaning Analysis:

Lina’s sunbird was first discovered more than 30 years ago. This bird is found in Philippines and resembles a hummingbird. The sentence describes the physical appearance of the bird.

Error Analysis:

“found” is verb-ed modifier that modifies a four-and-a-half-inch animal = Lina’s sunbird. The clause “that resembles…” also modifies the same entity. Hence, these two entities must be parallel. But grammatically these are not because a clause cannot be parallel to a phrase.

PoE:A. found in the Philippines and that resembles: Incorrect for the reason stated above.

B. found in the Philippines and that resembling: Incorrect. Use of “that” is incorrect. “that” again starts a clause but this clause does not have a verb and hence, we have fragment error.

C. found in the Philippines and resembling: Correct. “found” is a verb-ed modifier and “resembling” is a verb-ing modifier. They both modify the same identity.

D. that is found in the Philippines and it resembles: Incorrect. We need “that” in place of “it” to make the entities parallel.

E. that is found in the Philippines, resembling: Incorrect. The verb-ing modifier “resembling” preceded by a comma modifies the preceding clause. This modification does not make sense because it establishes some relationship between the bird being found in Philippines and looking like a hummingbird.

Show Tags

23 Apr 2013, 14:22

1

This post receivedKUDOS

Hi Shraddha & eGmat,I really liked this article; especially the way of organizing the concepts make it easy to comprehend and retain it in memory over a long term.In the article you mentioned that one of the structures of possible imperfect lists is 1. Noun forms and “ing” noun forms (gerund).What exactly is this structure? I guess the article doesn't elaborate on this.Do you have any OG examples of this structure or may be some simpler examples too? Do you mean something like this - " ... withdrawal and the tracking of satellites ... " is parallel? withdrawal is noun and the tracking of satellites is a gerund.

Show Tags

Confusion between how to find out the difference in a verb-ed modifier and a simple past tense verb.

2. The new lamp decorated with pink flowers and resembled a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

Please explain how to find that the verb is used in a simple past tense or as a verb-ed modifier ,Such as in this example the decorated is verb-ed modifier modifying the new lamp whereas resembled a star is a simple tense verb usage.

Show Tags

Confusion between how to find out the difference in a verb-ed modifier and a simple past tense verb.

2. The new lamp decorated with pink flowers and resembled a star brought a large smile on the child’s face.

Please explain how to find that the verb is used in a simple past tense or as a verb-ed modifier ,Such as in this example the decorated is verb-ed modifier modifying the new lamp whereas resembled a star is a simple tense verb usage.

Hi,I am giving you a simple test for that. Just use was/ were or is/are test. before the words found and resembles use was and try to understand the meaning.

Was found- logicalWas resembled- illogical. Was resembling- logical.

More Examples:

He saw a man injured (somebody else was responsible) by a bullet and limping in pain.

Let‘s apply the simple WAS / WERE test: The man was injured by the bullet is correct … The man was injuring by the bullet is nonsensical. So injured is the right adjective. The man was limping in pain is correct … The man was limped in pain is nonsensical. So limping is the correct adjective.

Show Tags

31 Jul 2014, 11:59

2. First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Philippines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

A. found in the Philippines and that resemblesB. found in the Philippines and that, resemblingC. found in the Philippines and resemblingD. that is found in the Philippines and it resemblesE. that is found in the Philippines, resembling

Meaning Analysis:

Lina’s sunbird was first discovered more than 30 years ago. This bird is found in Philippines and resembles a hummingbird. The sentence describes the physical appearance of the bird.

Error Analysis:

“found” is verb-ed modifier that modifies a four-and-a-half-inch animal = Lina’s sunbird. The clause “that resembles…” also modifies the same entity. Hence, these two entities must be parallel. But grammatically these are not because a clause cannot be parallel to a phrase.

PoE:A. found in the Philippines and that resembles: Incorrect for the reason stated above.

B. found in the Philippines and that resembling: Incorrect. Use of “that” is incorrect. “that” again starts a clause but this clause does not have a verb and hence, we have fragment error.

C. found in the Philippines and resembling: Correct. “found” is a verb-ed modifier and “resembling” is a verb-ing modifier. They both modify the same identity.

D. that is found in the Philippines and it resembles: Incorrect. We need “that” in place of “it” to make the entities parallel.

E. that is found in the Philippines, resembling: Incorrect. The verb-ing modifier “resembling” preceded by a comma modifies the preceding clause. This modification does not make sense because it establishes some relationship between the bird being found in Philippines and looking like a hummingbird.

In the third option doesn't resembling modify Philippines? I am unable to understand

Show Tags

15 Aug 2014, 01:09

nilansh7 wrote:

2. First discovered more than 30 years ago, Lina's sunbird, a four-and-a-half-inch animal found in the Philippines and that resembles a hummingbird, has shimmering metallic colors on its head; a brilliant orange patch, bordered with red tufts, in the center of its breast; and a red eye.

A. found in the Philippines and that resemblesB. found in the Philippines and that, resemblingC. found in the Philippines and resemblingD. that is found in the Philippines and it resemblesE. that is found in the Philippines, resembling

Meaning Analysis:

Lina’s sunbird was first discovered more than 30 years ago. This bird is found in Philippines and resembles a hummingbird. The sentence describes the physical appearance of the bird.

Error Analysis:

“found” is verb-ed modifier that modifies a four-and-a-half-inch animal = Lina’s sunbird. The clause “that resembles…” also modifies the same entity. Hence, these two entities must be parallel. But grammatically these are not because a clause cannot be parallel to a phrase.

PoE:A. found in the Philippines and that resembles: Incorrect for the reason stated above.

B. found in the Philippines and that resembling: Incorrect. Use of “that” is incorrect. “that” again starts a clause but this clause does not have a verb and hence, we have fragment error.

C. found in the Philippines and resembling: Correct. “found” is a verb-ed modifier and “resembling” is a verb-ing modifier. They both modify the same identity.

D. that is found in the Philippines and it resembles: Incorrect. We need “that” in place of “it” to make the entities parallel.

E. that is found in the Philippines, resembling: Incorrect. The verb-ing modifier “resembling” preceded by a comma modifies the preceding clause. This modification does not make sense because it establishes some relationship between the bird being found in Philippines and looking like a hummingbird.

In the third option doesn't resembling modify Philippines? I am unable to understand

Hi

No, resembling doesn't modify Philippines because as mentioned in the above posts "found in the Philippines" is modifying "the bird"and resembling is also modifying "the bird", it is not modifying Philippines and hence "C"

in the option "E", resembling is modifying Philippines and hence wrong meaning is conveyed

Show Tags

28 Oct 2014, 10:13

Hi All , I have one confusion regarding the options of this sentence. I understood why extends and is extending are verbs here. But Plz explain why expanded is verb. I know that linking verbs + verbed are considered as verbs but how come extended preceded by an and in this sentence acts as verb. Plz help me.

Show Tags

28 Oct 2014, 10:46

tcsanimesh wrote:

Hi All , I have one confusion regarding the options of this sentence. I understood why extends and is extending are verbs here. But Plz explain why expanded is verb. I know that linking verbs + verbed are considered as verbs but how come extended preceded by an and in this sentence acts as verb. Plz help me.

Hi,Consider the following sentence.

I bought official GMAT book 4 months ago and practiced all the questions properly.

Here "bought" and "practiced" both work as verb. Simple past tense. So you can see that "and+verb ed" is correct usage of verb.

Important for this question.Here spawned is parallel to extending. Extending is not verb here.

"Spawned" is modifying fungus. to find parallel usage of this type of question you can use "Was/were" test.